Page 64 of Control
“What for?” I’m breathless, but the words manage to break out of my mouth.
“Tonight. Making everything so easy. Being so adaptable when I moved into the living room and we didn’t get to eat at your prepared table. Lots of things.” He kisses me again, and again, and the more he kisses me the more I’m convinced this man is mine forever. A thought that should terrify me, but oddly... doesn’t.
It’s only been a few weeks. I’m trying not to get caught up in the romanticism of it all. But this man, the way he holds me, the way he kisses me and talks to me, the way he pushes me... there’s something here. And I’d be a fucking fool to ignore it.
CHAPTER16
Thor
Mom’s healing nicely.Five weeks into the original six weeks I negotiated with Addison. and it’s looking like she may be able to leave if things keep improving with Mom’s hip. Except I don’t want her to. And I’m not sure how to bring that to her in a way that doesn’t sound desperate and needy.
We definitely need to talk about what’s going to happen when she moves out in a week or so.Ifshe moves out in a week or so.
We’re heading out to eat soon. Together. Alone.
A week ago, the idea of leaving Matty with anyone but Addison would have given me anxiety so bad I couldn’t leave. But Austin and Mackenzie have visited every evening for the past seven.
I never asked, but they just keep showing up. They hang out with Matty, Austin talks hockey, Kenzie tries to play whatever game with him he’s into and fails with a smile on her face, and they’re actively trying to get to know my son.
The act itself is touching, but the fact that they just kicked us out of the house to spend an hour or two with him alone... it feels pretty good instead of terror-inducing.
We’re going to the Lotus in downtown Minneapolis for Vietnamese food. I have such a strong craving for summer rolls I might have cried if Adi had said she doesn’t like Vietnamese food.
But she does. And we’re headed there as soon as I can pick my jaw up off the ground and get this beautiful woman in front of me out into the car. She’s wearing a skin-tight white dress with black cuffs on her bicep-length sleeves, and a black trim around the bottom of the mid-thigh-length skirt. Her long, curly hair falls loose over her shoulders, and her black strappy shoes make me ache for those heels to carve into my back as I take her all night long.
For the past few weeks, she’s lived in sweats, yoga pants, and jeans, and while she’s the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen when she’s just awake and slobbing around on the couch... This... right now, she looks like a fucking goddess.
We’re going somewhere casual, low-key for dinner, but this woman is anything but low-key. Even in sweats. My mouth is dry, my dick is hard, and the teasing, sultry smile tugging at her lips tells me she knows. She absolutely knows.
“Alright Matty, we’re going to head out, okay?” I thought he’d be anxious, ask us to stay, and I think part of me kind of wanted him to as well. But when he waves us off from the couch with a smile and a loud “Bye, Dad. Bye, Addison, have fun and enjoy dinner!” My heart swells with pride in my ribcage. I feel like my body keeps growing to accommodate the expanding love I have for this kid.
Outside the house, I hold the door open for my girl, closing it with a soft click. Once I’m inside the car, I leave the radio off and broach the conversation that has been hanging over us like an anvil in a cartoon. “If you wanted to stay beyond next week... we’d like that.”
There. I’ve said it. It’s out in the open. Okay, so I can’t look at her, pretending to focus all my attention on the very important task of driving, and there’s a solitary bead of sweat creeping down my neck. But I still said it. It’s not quite a romantic delving into my feelings and laying my soul bare for her, but I think it gets the point across. I don’t want her to leave.
Her stare rests on the side of my face. If I wasn’t sweating before, the tension, the apprehension of her response would make me clammy. “You’re sure? I don’t want to overstay. I heard you on the phone to your mom this morning. She’s only going to be out of commission a few more weeks. She’s expecting to be cleared for flying before long...”
The way she trails off twinges in my chest. “I don’t mean we’d like you to stay on for work, Addison. I’d like you to consider staying... for me, for us.” Sliding my fingers into hers, I’m regretting choosing this moment to have this conversation. I should be across the dinner table from her, reading her facial expressions.
She needs to know she’s wanted for her, not for what she can do for me and my kid.
“I’d like to explore this girlfriend thing, Adi.” Trying to keep it light doesn’t help. The words may be upbeat, but the emotion behind them is a big deal and we both know it.
“Really? Mr. One-Night-Stand is thinking about settling down?”
The light changes to red, and I look at her, cupping her face. “He’s been settled for a while now, kitten. I think it’s time we both admitted it. Don’t leave next week.”
Her chin trembles under my hand as she nods. “Okay. I won’t.”
I think we eat dinner at the restaurant, I’m so distracted by the boner in my pants that I’m honestly not sure what happened while we were there. They may have put food in front of me, but I was so taken by the siren across the table, I just sat and stared.
There’s no food on my shirt, and I don’t feel hungry, so it’s safe to say I ate. But I have no recollection of anything other than her eyes, her smile, the way her hair shone in the overhead light, and the way the other men gazed at her with longing.
Fuck. Definitely falling hard for my kitten.
“Kenzie says Matthew is doing great.” She shows me her phone, there’s a Kenzie-selfie with Matty and Austin in the background, curled up on the couch reading. “She said...” She clears her throat. “If there’s somewhere else we’d like to go...”
Is that why she’s dressed like the foxy vixen she is? She wants me to take her to the club? My brain short-circuits as she rises from the table. Maybe she just feels good in that dress, and she hasn’t even given the club a second thought. But now the thought’s in my head, it’s all I can think of.